If someone promised to give you $7.7 million for you to use to pay for something you really, really need – well, it would make sense to wait on that money for a long time.
But it’s impossible to wait forever. That’s the situation the Guilford County Board of Commissioners found itself in recently after it had been hoping for over a year that the State of North Carolina would grant the county $7.7 million for a new mental health center now under construction just north of downtown Greensboro. Now, however, Guilford County has plugged that nearly $8-million hole with county money.
Many Guilford County officials say they’re still keeping their fingers crossed that the state will come through with the money in the end. However, Guilford County waited well over a year for the expected money from the state and the project bills are coming due.
Early last year, as the shift to a new mental health system in Guilford County and the planning for the project were getting underway, all the signs pointed to $7.7 million in state help being a virtually done deal. However, Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the state budget passed by the legislature which included that money and the state never passed a budget in 2019. In March, the coronavirus pandemic hit and put a greater strain on the state budget.
So, Guilford County is now shifting county funds from other places to make up the shortfall for the mental health center project. In 2019, Guilford County sold two-third bonds – a special bond offering that allows, without voter approval, the county to borrow up to two-thirds of the bond debt it paid off in the previous year. It raised that money to fund a number of capital projects including a new animal shelter, an Emergency Services vehicle maintenance facility and base, and a new Sheriff’s Department headquarters.
The board filled the $7.7-million hole with $4.8 million from bond proceeds from that sale and also took $630,000 from the bond premium – extra money that comes in from a bond sale since buyers pay over par for the attractive government bonds. The Guilford County commissioners also appropriated $2.2 million and change from the county’s savings account to make up the shortfall.
I think it would be a good thing to know if there will be any actual services provided at this new facility. When I was an employee of Guilford County Mental Health and we did provide actual services to actual people with mental health issues it always bothered me that there was one whole building and most of another taken up for employees, that there were 350 parking places for staff and 50 for patients. I frankly very rarely agree with the Rhino times, but I suspect they might agree with me on this one. If that building is to house administrators let them work the hell from home and use the money to assist people devastated by the pandemic, or those in North East Greensboro devastated by a tornado several years ago who have never been made whole.
Adjacent to Bendover Avenue, Socialist Services, the Public Health giveaway department, and the Police station.. How convenient.